SGN, the studio behind popular mobile and social games such as “Cookie Jam” and “Sugar Smash,” has received a $130 million investment from the South Korean firm Netmarble Games.

SGN, which was launched as Mindjolt by MySpace Co-Founders Chris DeWolfe and Aber Whitcomb back in 2011, plans to use the new cash infusion to expand into Asian markets. On the flip side, the Seoul, Korea-based Netmarble–which has built multiplayer games for the likes of Marvel Entertainment–will look to use SGN to broaden its presence in Western markets, said Mr. Dewolfe. Read More »

Angry Bird-maker Rovio Entertainment has parted ways with its head of game development Jami Laes, the latest in a long line of top executives to leave the Finnish games company over the past year. Read More »

One mystery from the initial press release was why Zynga was dropping its pursuit of a real-money gaming business. Newly installed CEO Don Mattrick said it simply: Free, social games are exploding in popularity, and that’s where Zynga needed to place its focus, he said.

Don Mattrick’s move to become CEO of Zynga caught many by surprise, given founder Mark Pincus’ strong grasp on the company, his 61% share of voting rights and his reputation as a very hands-on manager.

Now the question is: What does the title of CEO mean at Mattrick’s Zynga?

According to people close to the executives, Mattrick will handle the bulk of Zynga’s day-to-day decisions. Meanwhile, Pincus will serve as chief product officer and will jointly run a new executive committee with Mattrick to oversee some of the larger strategy decisions.

The setup, which somewhat resembles the arrangement that Google had with Eric Schmidt when he was CEO, doesn’t clarify how the executives will hash out disagreements or even clearly split responsibilities – given how the decisions related to product will inevitably bleed into decisions related to the day-to-day operations of the game company.

Could the company be left with two top leaders, both separately answering to a board — that Pincus chairs?

Zynga declined to make Mattrick or Pincus available for interviews.

Bing Gordon, a Zynga board member who has been one of the closest advisers to Pincus, said the partnership works because of a deep level of mutual respect between the two executives, years in the making. Read More »